Berner Oberland Trek Itinerary
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CALIFORNIA ALPINE GUIDES BERNER OBERLAND TREK Switzerland ITINERARY Day 1 We meet in the quaint town of Rosenlaui, just up from the town of Meringen and stay at the historic 19th century Rosenlaui Hotel. Day 2 Walking from Rosenlaui, today is spent hiking over the Gross Scheidegg pass and onto First, where we take in spectacular views of the the Jungfrau region and the alps Wetterhorn and the Eiger. We descend to near the bustling small town of Grindelwald, which is dominated by the imposing North Face of the Eiger. We stay at a charming 3-star hotel just above town. Day 3 Today we hike up directly under the North Face of the Eiger. It is easy to spot the famous climbing routes and imagine what it would be like to be on the face. After a stop for a look at the Eiger Glacier, we descend to Kleine Scheidegg, where we stay at the famous Hotel Bellevue des Alps, made famous by the recent "North Face" movie as well as "The Eiger Sanction" starring Clint Eastwood. The Bellevue is an old school 4-star hotel that has not changed much since the first climbing attempts on the Eiger in the 1930s. Day 4 In the morning, we board the famous Jungfraujoch train that will take us inside the Eiger to the glaciers of the Jungfraujoch. Along the way, the train stops and you can get out and look out of the viewing windows that are in the middle of the North Face, where a few climber rescues have taken place. At the top, we leave the station and hike along the glacier and have lunch in a high alpine hut. We descend back to Kleine Scheidegg and descend to Wengen where we spend the night in a 4-star hotel and spa in the quiet and car free resort town of Wengen. Day 5 The morning is spent descending into the Lauterbrunnen Valley, the "Yosemite" of Switzerland. The glacier-carved valley has high cliffs and waterfalls much like Yosemite in California. After exploring the town of Lauterbrunnen, we take a short cable car ride and make our way up to the idyllic Swiss village of Murren which is perched right on the edge of the rim of the valley. We stay at a small 3-star hotel that is overlooking the cliff. Day 6 We head into the more remote part of the Berner region, as things get just a little more strenuous. We head over the Sefinfurggal Pass with views looking back at the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau one last time. We descend into the tiny and remote village of Greisalp for the evening to stay at a charming Swiss chalet hotel. Day 7 The most strenuous day of the trek, we hike over the steep Hohturli Pass before descending to the amazing glacier-fed lake, Oeschinensee with it's turqouise colored water. We make our way down to our final destination of Kandersteg, a small Swiss town and major hiking center. We spend the night in a 3-star hotel and enjoy a final celebratory dinner. Day 8 After breakfast we part ways and board trains in Kandersteg on to our next destinations. Itinerary subject to change .